The present invention relates to vehicle headlight systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adaptive vehicle lighting system for improved visibility and roadway illumination.
It is desired by vehicle manufacturers to improve roadway illumination of a host vehicle without negatively affecting visibility of other nearby or on-coming vehicles. Improved roadway illumination can improve drivability and safety aspects associated with operation of the host vehicle, especially in low-illumination or low visibility conditions. Some low visibility conditions are, for example, driving at night, driving through a tunnel, and driving in bad weather.
Numerous vehicle headlight configurations and systems currently exist for controlling the state of headlights of a host vehicle. For example, many vehicles today include daytime running lights that are illuminated continuously not only during the daytime, but also during the nighttime, which increases noticeability of the host vehicle to other nearby vehicles.
Other vehicle headlight systems detect levels of light exterior to a host vehicle and in response thereto activate the headlights. Some vehicle headlight systems mechanically “steer” the headlights to bias the headlights toward the area where the host vehicle is being directed. The steering of the headlights may coincide with the turning of the host vehicle steering wheel. Yet other headlight control systems dim the headlights from a “high beam” mode to a “low beam” mode upon the detection of light emitted from the headlights of an oncoming vehicle or from the taillights of a leading vehicle.
There also exist electrochromatic mirrors that may be adjusted to somewhat minimize or relieve the reflections from scattering of light generated from nearby vehicle headlights. The relief is limited and the reflections can still be annoying to vehicle occupants. The electrochromatic mirrors provide limited use, but yet add additional cost to a vehicle.
All of the above-mentioned vehicle headlight systems have a common drawback of being limited to very few headlight beam illumination patterns or include numerous mechanical elements to steer or otherwise modify the headlight beam illumination pattern. Additionally, the above vehicle headlight systems are limited in their ability to maximize illumination from a host vehicle while minimizing glare to nearby vehicles.
Also, the amount of safety system features and components for implementation within a vehicle is ever increasing. Besides the safety features associated with vehicle headlight systems, other safety features are provided by collision warning and countermeasure systems. Collision warning and countermeasure systems utilize multiple transmitters, receivers, and sensors to perform tasks, such as those related to object detection and threat assessment, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure and lane-keeping control.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved vehicle safety system that provides a robust and adaptable headlight beam illumination pattern, that maximizes illumination forward of a host vehicle, and that minimizes glare and visibility interference to operators of nearby vehicles. It is also desired that the improved vehicle safety system minimize system complexity and manufacturing time and costs involved therein.